Indiana University - Arbutus Yearbook (Bloomington, IN)

Page 27 text:

TI-IiEr m %M ' j -s : xs xj s ■iiin s t( ' , 111 need i.l;, nasal nmi; alonL; ■k. ' and nf started riylit in to make a hit— and I i uess I did it all- result ! ■ ' He commenced right away dropping in political and agricultural, with old man Taylnr. Xext he began c; accidentally — and driving me to and from schonl. And a girl something to amuse her, doesn ' t she? She asked it petulantly. Charlie said nothing. There was her waiting for a reply; such a (|uesti(in has hui one answer. . on, occasionally stopping for a clever interixilation of the dra speech of the old rancher. And after an afternodii df i.ld ' Crip ' s ' ranihling, with his en about ' how much he had just cleared from that ' er ten-acre tr ' how this here atmosphere was sure a mile ahead a ' }(iur nV cit - smoke ' — whv I could go before the glass, rehearse a couple of times and have the whole performance down — clear to the hobble. Even in the dimness Charlie could see the hump of daint ■ slmulders, the squint of e} ' e, and the long drawn chin wrinkles that completed her perfect mimicry. It makes the greatest comedy scream e er — and just wait for the cli- max, ft came close after Christmas, when, after several months of ' warmin ' up, ' I suppose he called it, he drove around with his stiff old grey mare one afternoon and announced he had something to show me. We pulled up at a big, square, squatty sort of house, just linished; Crip hobbled out and limped to the door, with me following. When we had covered every corner of the house, with a half-hour exploration of the kitchen, ])antry, laundr • — and all that useless sort of thing, he asked me how I liked it. ' Xot a bit, ' I answered. ■ Then I wasted another half hour showing him how the front should be enlarged for a drawing room; part of the kitchen and the linen closet — big enough for a hotel — cut otT t(] make a conscr ator ' ; a [xirch run all the way across, with a porte-cochere entrance; and a thousand little changes. Well, things went along about the same for a couple of weeks more. Then he drove me out again — and what do you think that old fool had gone and done ! He must have had a dozen men working steady on that house, iTsri iJ Tsr.A. SSSISZS SSJ

Page 26 text:

TMEr XOT3 J T 13iTJ rXJyS riicy ciiKTiiitl ir iin ilic depot. Kifurc iluin mii- a (l .cn f lcaniin , ilaii.L;iii,i;. i)kl»can trc«.-i l■ar . amnii-; iIkiii the- snlmrlian iu ' to lur lioinc. ' Lall a taxi! (ilihly. she i|U(itcd it, and laiij licd. W Iiy 111 cniirsc. if — if ymi say so. lie i|uictly at;rci l. Ik- leaned hack on the stiff, hini|)y cusliious and tried to feel contfoitahle. l ' o-. ildy to drown the hixiirious hum of the motor, and tlie imaijinary chck of the meter measurini; out the miles — and tiie ilollars. he hej;an : ■. ure yi u haven ' t fallen for the inevitahle and irresistahle Stetson, red liandana. wooly chaps, and the Coylt.iy ' s Lament? ' She laughed in nej ation. lie i)eercd steadily out of tiie little window, at llu- imrollini; jianorama of brilliant, jiarish city streets. ■■( )r to some old codj er of a stockman, the kind lliat linL;s his lie.irt and ranch at every school teacher? His voice was so low she had to lean forward to hear. Well, how on earth did you learn — . she liei an ; tiien. reali ini; slie had ■;iven herself away — Of course I was jjoint; to tell yoii. It ' too funny, too killin;, ' to keej). Oh, the simple old idiot ! I ' razy old ( rip. ' She lau},died— the same lauj h. ISeltcr hc ' in at the lirst. urs.;e l I h.nlie niieily. Hi- f.icc wa-- covered by the shadow of the corner. eNcei t now and tiieii when the yleam from a corner arc or the whiter dare from a passim; machine shifted across and limed it out in the darkness. .She continued to lean forward directly l efore the j lass of the door — Just to let folks know I have returned. she explained. Well, it be an just as soon as I jjot down to that miserable old hole. Vou remember how home-sick I was, especially after all the fun I had planned when I i;ot away from home — and — a — . — . nd from me. He (Hiiclly finished it for her. Ves. and from you. She laui hed .li .iin : perh.ips -he .lidn ' i know what else to do. Well, he was the mdy man in -i.L;lit if y n conid i;ill lifly ye.•lr of h.iy- seed. with bow legs that weren ' t even mates— a man. (1, thai iu that h •ne nii ncT the sch.iol an.l that I Ihei i . to inii np I le met me at the train, ere twenty-two pupiN. lavlor ' s. ( )f c.purse 1 IIN I IA CA ' CJl aT P»I2. S ITY

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TPiia XOXC9 Jt T TJTXJyS for every sinjjile thinfj had been fixed exaotly as I had t Id him. iven tn tin- swellest j lass and i old door-kiKih e er! It striuk me s i funny I just had t laii}, ' h. Tliat surprised him a little. I }.;uess; hut rij dit then, without any niure aduu, he stood there in the middle of tile kitihen and blurted out, kind of thiik-ton- ued. or like his inoutli was full of nnish : W ell 1 ho])es it ' s a suitin you a little i etter now. .Miss I ' .thcl. Ain ' l it? Cause ! I uilt it over— for you to live in -a ilicn he lalinly (lra.i.;!4ed his crooked lingers i, like tiiis. ■ ( )f course I knew it wa due oon. Iiui it l aui hini; a,i, ' ain. ' ■ 1 didn ' t ,t;ues w.i i oin ' la t.ike it stammer iiil. hut I cut him off short — ■ ' it i ii ' t so nuuh tile house- nr even you for every sciiool teacher tiiat comes alon . (. ' rip? That linally ijot to him, 1 , ' ucss. for he didn ' t -ay another word, hut just drove me back to Taylor ' s like nothint; had ha])pene(l thout;!) lie did have a funny kind of set to his jaw. i ' ven tiieu lie didn ' t iiave sense enoutjh to know he was stunjj and stay away, lie drove me to and from sciiool rc).;ular, clear to the end of the year. . nd iie dro e me to tiie depot when I left yesterday — 1 with me. iiow ' d ya like it ; n o cr iiis strim y wiiiskers- a- -I idiotic i just -larted ii lile ihala way. ' lu- -tarted t( I ' .ut sav. do voM l.uild it ove ouldn ' t ever tlrive near the i him up to it any numlier 1 never did tiiink to tell liim .i,-ood-i)ye. I ' .ut iie iiouse nor mention it ai ain. tiiout,di 1 tried to ic of times. ■■. nd that ' s tiie story of my iaie-t propo-ai. slu- coiuiudid. crabbed, crip|)led, musty old idiot. siie ciioked out tietween lialf-li ])eals of lau),diter at the memory. Tiien site hai)pencd to •,dance out. W by look, t iiariey Dear, w )li. tii: steric; e re just around tiie corner from iioine — and niother. Site clicked open her sii er-link iiai;. pulled out a iiandkerciiief and dabbled lier eyes to wipe away the irace- of merriment. .And 1 for-..t to leil you liie tiiin- yu ' ll apj.rcciaie mosi .,| all. « ' 1.1 (rip ' s name was exactly tlie same as yours — (iiariie I ' .rown ' )l(l I ncle ( liarlic, ' tiicy called iiim. Isn ' t that the funny thinj;? They had swum, ' around the corner and were slowini.; up. IT ] LAJ«LA. ■CJP IVErX2. S ' IT V